(The Associated Press circulated the following article on October 23.)
LOCKRIDGE, Iowa — One of two locomotives on an Amtrak train traveling from California to Chicago caught fire Saturday afternoon in this southeast Iowa town.
There were 164 passengers and crew of about 12 on the eastbound California Zephyr and no one was hurt, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said.
He said the second locomotive, a diesel engine, caught fire shortly before 5 p.m. CDT.
“The crew separated that engine from the rest of the train and called the fire department,” Black said.
Lockridge is 11 miles west of Mount Pleasant, where the train had a scheduled stop.
“They pulled both locomotives away from the passenger cars and, as I understand it, they separated the lead locomotive from the burning one. The burning locomotive was completely isolated,” he said.
Black said the cause of the fire appears to be fuel-related.
“We don’t know what ignited it, perhaps a leak,” he said. Black had no other details.
He said there were no crew members on the second locomotive, and the engineer was alerted by a fire alarm, which sounded in the lead engine.
“He got notification that the second unit had a fire alarm. They stopped the train to investigate and found it was on fire,” Black said.
Jefferson County Jerry Droz said there was a lot of smoke but he didn’t see any flames.
“There’s blistering paint on the outside, but what’s on the inside, we have no idea of that. I haven’t been up that close,” the sheriff said.
He said the Lockridge fire department responded and put the fire out.
“The railroad crew did an excellent job of getting things under control, the people under control. They’re to be commended.,” Droz said.
The train, with 11 passenger cars, left Emeryville, Calif., near Oakland, on Thursday and was scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Saturday.
Black said Amtrak planned to put the damaged locomotive on a side track and use the remaining engine to pull the train to Chicago Saturday night.
“We will be severely delayed. But we need to get the people to their destinations,” he said.
The train pulled out of Lockridge shortly after 8 p.m., Black said.
He said the damaged locomotive will stay in town until Amtrak officials can inspect it.
“It will need to be inspected in the light of day,” Black said.